Getting fit for the new year: let HAWC lend a hand

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jamal Sutter
  • 23d Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  With a new year around the corner, many people have goals to live a healthier lifestyle but don't know where to go for help. That's where the Health and Wellness Center (HAWC) comes in.

Moody's HAWC, located at the Freedom I Fitness Center, has a variety of classes and programs tailored to help base members get on track with their fitness-related New Year's resolutions.

Classes range from weight management to nutrition to diabetes awareness, and are open to any and all members of team Moody. The programs are available year-round to help turn short-term resolutions into permanent lifestyle changes.

"You see people coming to the gym," said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Terri Miller, 23d Aerospace Medicine Squadron diet therapy technician. "You'll see them for the first month. After that, nobody comes back, because they hit that plateau or their adrenaline has fallen off. People don't realize it takes two months for anything to become a habit, so a month is not going to get it."

According to Miller, one of the biggest issues people have with committing to their goals is not having a visual representation of what they set out to accomplish.

"You need to write down a plan and stick to it," she said. "It's easy for us to say what we want to do, but unless we write it down and see it in front of us, we won't stick to it."

The HAWC also offers the Tobacco Cessation course, a program designed for those who want to quit smoking.

"Some of the things we do with this program is give individuals the confidence and tools needed to aid them in a successful quit so they can be healthy, not only for being fit to fight, but fit for life," said Staff Sgt. Shaton Evans, 23d AMDS diet therapy technician and Tobacco Cessation facilitator.

Doing away with cigarettes and other tobacco products can be a difficult obstacle to overcome. Evans had some words of wisdom for those who feel like they don't quite have what it takes to become smoke-free.

"If at first you don't succeed, quit and quit again," she said. "At no point are we here to judge. If I see you in my class on Jan. 1 and see you again March 31, you're here to be healthy, you're here to have a long productive life, and that's what I'm here to assist you with."

For more information on the HAWC and the programs it provides, call 229-257-4292.